Donkey Kong Country (series)
| latest release version = Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze | latest release date = }} The Donkey Kong Country (DKC) video game series is a series of platform video games originally developed by Rare and later Retro Studios, and published by Nintendo. It is a spin-off from the original Donkey Kong series. In it, players control Donkey Kong and his friends and must complete a series of sidescrolling levels that include enemies, obstacles, and collectibles. The original Donkey Kong Country trilogy was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System between 1994 and 1996, and was developed by Rare. The first game was later ported to the Game Boy Color and the trilogy to the Game Boy Advance and Virtual Console service on Wii. The trilogy was followed by a game on the Nintendo 64 titled Donkey Kong 64 (called Donkey Kong Country 64 early in its development). Another Donkey Kong game was in development for the GameCube, but after Microsoft's acquisition of Rare in 2002, the development of future Donkey Kong Country games stopped. Several experimental spin-off titles that utilised the DK Bongos were released between 2003 and 2005. However, Retro Studios revived the Donkey Kong Country series in 2010 with the launch of Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Wii, and later the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U. The most recent title in the series is Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for Wii U and Nintendo Switch. The series' protagonists are Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Kiddy Kong and Cranky Kong, aided by other Kongs and their friends. King K. Rool and his Kremling cohorts serve as the primary antagonists for most of the series. Other notable villains include the Tiki Tak Tribe and the Snowmads, introduced to the series by Retro Studios. Plot In the original Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong, together with his nephew and sidekick Diddy Kong, must recover his stolen hoard of bananas from King K. Rool and the Kremlings. Upon investigating the empty "Kong's Banana Hoard", located directly underneath his home in the Kongo Jungle, Donkey Kong embarks on an adventure throughout his native Donkey Kong Island. While collecting bananas on the island's vastly different regions, Donkey Kong must defeat many enemies, including the reptilian Kremlings, and other hazardous creatures native to the island. After progressing through the island's different areas, Donkey Kong ultimately arrives at a pirate ship called Gangplank Galleon, where Donkey Kong's nemesis and the leader of the Kremlings, King K. Rool, awaits with Donkey Kong's Banana Hoard. Upon his defeat, the game ends with a final shot of Donkey Kong's Banana Hoard restored to its former glory, filled with bananas once again. Donkey Kong Country 2 opens with Diddy Kong standing on the deck of a pirate ship. In the ship's cabin, he finds a note stating that Donkey Kong has been kidnapped by Kaptain K. Rool, a pirate Kremling, who had demanded the entire Banana Hoard that he stole in the previous game for a ransom from the Kongs. Diddy Kong subsequently attempts to rescue Donkey Kong from the Kaptain, and accompanying him is his girlfriend, Dixie Kong. Together, they travel through Crocodile Isle and are helped on their way by an assortment of animals (called Animal Buddies) in a bid to defeat K. Rool and rescue Donkey Kong. At the start of Donkey Kong Country 3, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong have disappeared during a fishing trip to the Northern Kremisphere, a previously unseen part of the DK Isles. Dixie Kong sets off to find the pair and is joined by her cousin Kiddy Kong. Initially, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong appear to have been kidnapped by a mysterious robot named KAOS, but later in the game it is revealed that King K. Rool, going by the new moniker Baron K. Roolenstein, is the real mastermind behind the pair's disappearance. Donkey Kong Country Returns's story revolves around creatures known as Tikis, which are new to the series. The different types of Tikis fill the role of the antagonists in the story, replacing the Kremlings from Donkey Kong Country. The story begins when a group of evil Tikis known as the Tiki Tak Tribe arrive on Donkey Kong Island after being awaken by a volcanic explosion, and plays music to hypnotise the animals on the island to steal Donkey Kong's bananas. Since Donkey Kong is resistant to the Tiki's music, he works with Diddy Kong to retrieve his hoard of bananas from the Tikis. Throughout the game, the pair travels through eight worlds to recover their stolen bananas. After Tiki Tong is defeated, the Kongs were launched into space where they punch down on the moon which crushes Tiki Tong's base and sends bananas flying everywhere while the animals are freed from the Tikis' hypnosis magic. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze begins at Donkey Kong's hut, where the Kongs are celebrating his birthday. Just as he is about to blow the candles out, Donkey Kong notices a mysterious snowflake appear and put out the candle on his birthday cake. An ice dragon flies toward Donkey Kong Island, turning the sea under it to ice. The Kongs are then blown away from the island by the ice dragon's intense winds, landing on the Lost Mangroves island. Afterwards, a large Snowmad ship stations itself where the Volcano from Donkey Kong Country Returns used to be, and the Snowmad tribe seizes Donkey Kong Island for their own, turning it into a frosty area with continuous snowfall. After traversing across 5 islands, the Kongs arrive at Donkey Kong Island. The Kongs make their way to the leader of the Snowmads, Lord Fredrik. After a long battle, Donkey Kong delivers the final punch to Lord Fredrik, which sends him flying out through the roof of the Snowmad's ship, destroying it in the process. Donkey Kong uses the horn that was used to freeze their island, turning Donkey Kong Island back to normal. Setting The games mainly take place on Donkey Kong Island, which has taken many different forms. Originally, it was quite diverse; it has a large jungle on the bottom, pine trees above, icy mountains, and a lone industrial area. In Donkey Kong Country Returns, however, the island appears drastically different than in previous titles. It no longer appears in the shape of Donkey Kong's head, and now has a large volcano protruding from it. The island is also now teeming with ancient temples, many of which appear to have been built by the Tiki Tak Tribe sometime before they were encased in the volcano. It initially has a similar look in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, before being frozen over by the Snowmads. Donkey Kong Island made two cameo appearances in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest: it can be seen in the background of the areas Gangplank Galleon and K. Rool's Keep. In the Game Boy Advance remake of Donkey Kong Country 2, these cameos were removed. Gameplay Rare era The games in the Donkey Kong Country series are primarily platform where players must complete a number of different side-scrolling levels. Each level is uniquely themed and consists of varying tasks such as swimming, riding in mine carts, launching out of barrel cannons, or swinging from vine to vine. Players lose a life if they get hit by any enemy or fall off the screen. To defeat an enemy, players can either execute a roll, jump or ground slam which can also unveil secret items. However, some enemies cannot be taken down like this, so the player must either throw a barrel or use the assistance of a friendly animal. Enemies vary in difficulty, usually becoming tougher to take down as the game progresses. When the player has lost all their lives, the game is over. However, the player can gain additional lives by collecting items scattered throughout the levels, including 100 bananas; all four golden letters that spell out K–O–N–G; extra life balloons; and golden animal tokens that lead to bonus levels. There are also many secret passages that can lead to bonus games where the player can earn additional lives or other items. Retro Studios era In the newer games that succeed the original trilogy, new gameplay elements were added such as levels in which the characters and foreground environments appear as silhouettes, spawning several new gameplay mechanics. In Returns and Tropical Freeze, collecting K-O-N-G letters will not award any lives to the player, but instead unlock various bonuses and hidden levels. Additionally, in these games collecting puzzle pieces unlocks artwork from the games. In Tropical Freeze the Kongs are able to pluck items from the ground and pick up and throw stunned enemies. Additionally, filling up a 'Kong-POW' meter allows Donkey Kong and his partner to perform a special move which defeats all on-screen enemies and converts them into items depending on the partner. The game also utilises the "Super Guide" feature that previously appeared in New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Super Mario Galaxy 2. If the player loses eight lives in a single level, they are given the option to allow a white-coloured Donkey Kong named Super Kong to take over and complete the level for them. However, Super Kong will not look for collectible items, nor will he show the player where they are. He also keeps anything he happens to collect, so the player is not rewarded for these items. However, the Super Guide is absent in Tropical Freeze and is replaced by an expanded shop, run by Funky Kong, offering various support items such as temporary invincibility. Playable characters Players of Donkey Kong Country control one of the various characters, depending on the game: Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, Kiddy Kong and Cranky Kong. In the original trilogy, the player can switch between characters if they are both on the screen. This is changed in the Retro Studios games, where the player has to choose character(s) before each level. Each character has its own specific characteristics: Donkey is the larger and stronger of the two, and can defeat enemies more easily. Diddy is faster and more agile, but not as powerful, and can use his barrel jetpack to glide the air over short distances and his peanut gun to stun enemies. Dixie can spin her ponytail into a propeller and slowly descend through the air, with an initial boost in height at the start, allowing her and Donkey Kong to fly up out-of-reach platforms or items, and can also use her candy gun to stun enemies. Kiddy has the ability to bounce across open water. Cranky, in a similar mechanic to the DuckTales video game, can use his cane to bounce on dangerous surfaces such as spiky thorns and reach higher areas and defeat certain enemies the other Kongs cannot. In several levels, players can gain assistance from various animals, who are found by breaking open crates. These helpers include Rambi the Rhino, Expresso the Ostrich, Enguarde the Swordfish, Winky the Frog, and Squawks the Parrot, among others. These animals have certain unique abilities that the player can use such as Rambi's ability to charge at enemies. Animal buddies can sometimes give players access to otherwise inaccessible bonus games, examples being Rambi and Enguarde busting through walls. Modes The series' games offer single-player and multiplayer game modes. In the original trilogy, the multiplayer mode allows two players to play alternatively in one of two different modes: the competitive "Contest" mode or the cooperative "Team" mode. In Contest mode, each player controls a different set of Kongs and take turns playing each level as quickly as possible; the objective is to complete the most levels in the fastest time. In Team mode, each player takes the role of one of the two Kongs and play as a tag team: the active player's Kong will control the progression of the two players while the other player is dormant; the other player takes control if the active player loses his Kong from damage or if the active decides to switch out. In the newer games, multiplayer mode enables a second player to control other Kongs. If a player's character dies in two-player mode, it can be brought back by using the other character to hit a "DK Barrel" or red balloon that floats into view, a mechanic similar to the one used in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. To avoid problems arising from differences in the players' skills, the second player can hop on Donkey's back to take on a more passive role, while a Kong's specific characteristic can be used to help his partner, such as Diddy's ability to prolong jumps. There is also an optional time attack mode, which in Tropical Freeze feature online leaderboards, allowing players to view video replays of the top ranked players. User interface Donkey Kong Country uses a series of map screens to track the players' progress. Between each level, players control their character on the map screen, navigating to the next level they want to play. Each level on the map is marked with an icon: unfinished levels are marked by Kremlings (in the original trilogy), while friendly areas are marked by members of the Kong family. Every individual world map screen has one boss enemy at the end of the course, which must be defeated to advance to further worlds. In the original trilogy, it is only possible to access the entire island map after defeating a world boss. However, it is also possible to access previous world maps by finding Funky Kong and borrowing his barrel plane. Players use this ability to select the world from the main screen, then the level within it. During play the game interface hides most game-related information, such as the number of bananas, letters, and animal tokens collected, as well as the number of lives remaining. When an item is collected, the relevant information briefly appears on the screen. Games The original Donkey Kong Country trilogy was originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System between 1994 and 1996, and was developed by British video game developer Rare. These games were later ported to the Game Boy Color (the first one only) and Game Boy Advance, and were also re-released on the Virtual Console service on Wii. After Microsoft's acquisition of Rare in 2002 development of future Donkey Kong games stopped. However, Retro Studios revived the series in 2010 with the launch of Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Wii, and later the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U. The most recent title in the series is Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for Wii U and Nintendo Switch. ;Donkey Kong Country (1994): The original game was developed by Rare and was originally published for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1994. It was the first Donkey Kong game that was not produced or directed by Shigeru Miyamoto, the character's original creator, although he was still involved with the project."E3: 2010" In the game, Donkey Kong, together with his nephew and sidekick Diddy Kong, must recover his stolen hoard of bananas from King K. Rool and the Kremlings. ;Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995): The second game was also developed by Rare and was originally published for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1995. The game begins soon after Donkey Kong has been kidnapped by the prime antagonist Kaptain K. Rool, leaving Diddy and his girlfriend Dixie to rescue him. Together, the two travel to various and distinct parts of Crocodile Isle where the game is set on which there are varying worlds totalling in eight unique environments. ;Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! (1996): The third game was also developed by Rare and was originally published for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1996. It was the final installment in the original trilogy. In the game, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong have disappeared during a fishing trip to the Northern Kremisphere, a previously unseen part of the DK Isles. Dixie Kong sets off to find the pair and is joined by her cousin Kiddy Kong. ;Donkey Kong Country Returns (2010): The series was revived by Retro Studios with the launch of Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Wii in 2010. It is the series' fourth entry and the first not to involve Rare during its development. The game's story focuses on a group of evil creatures called Tikis known as the Tiki Tak Tribe that arrive on Donkey Kong Island, and hypnotise the island's animals to steal Donkey Kong's bananas. This forces him to retrieve the hoard with the help of his sidekick Diddy Kong. ;Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (2014): The fifth game in the series was developed by Retro Studios and published for the Wii U in 2014. It is the first game in the series rendered in high-definition. The game's story focuses on the Snowmads, a group of Viking creatures, such as walruses, owls and penguins, that invade Donkey Kong Island, forcing Donkey Kong to go against them with the help of his friends Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, and Cranky Kong. This is Cranky Kong's first appearance as a playable character in the series. Ports Donkey Kong Country was later ported to the Game Boy Color in 2000, the Game Boy Advance in 2003 and was re-released on the Virtual Console on Wii in 2007. Donkey Kong Country 2 was ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2004 and was re-released on the Virtual Console on Wii in 2007. Donkey Kong Country 3 was ported to Game Boy Advance in 2005, and was re-released on the Virtual Console on Wii in 2007. Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D was re-released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013. Donkey Kong Country Returns was released on the Nintendo eShop on Wii U in PAL regions in 2015. A port of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze was released for Nintendo Switch in 2018. It features Funky Kong as a playable character for the first time in the Donkey Kong Country series. Donkey Kong Land The original Donkey Kong Country trilogy was adapted as three games for the Game Boy: Donkey Kong Land, Donkey Kong Land 2 and Donkey Kong Land III. The world themes and storylines were largely the same as the DKC trilogy, with mild deviations. However, they featured monochrome graphics, different level layouts and the addition of a few original enemies. The games were re-released on the Virtual Console on the Nintendo 3DS between April 2014 and February 2015. Characters Television series Donkey Kong Country is a Canadian-French computer-animated television series created by France 2 and Nelvana. It was originally from a different series titled: La Planète de Donkey Kong (The Planet of Donkey Kong in English translation). Donkey Kong Country first aired in France on 4 September 1996; it premiered in Canada and aired in its entirety on Teletoon. It has premiered late in the United States on CBS originally on August 15, 1997, before the Fox Broadcasting Company got the U.S. exclusive rights to air it. On December 19, 1998, was when they aired two episodes as specials and aired a few more episodes during the summer of 1999 before being taken off. However, the series was broadcast in its entirety on Fox Family from 1998 until 2000. In Japan, Donkey Kong Country was aired on TV Tokyo on October 1, 1999 and aired all episodes on Friday nights at 6:30PM with the exception of its final episode which was a clip episode. Although that was later presented in another TV Tokyo series, which was on a quiz show called Ohashi. It was one of the earliest television series to be computer-animated to match an artistic style. The series was partially negatively received in U.S. shores due to its large amount of differences from the games; however, it has been successful and popular in Canada, France and Japan, with the latter of the three having quite a line of merchandise, that includes the entire series released on 13 volumes in videotape releases, with three episodes per tape. Several elements of the series appeared in Donkey Kong 64, which was released a year after the show began airing on Fox in the U.S. Crystal coconuts also appeared in later spin-off games of the series, including DK: King of Swing and DK: Jungle Climber. The series' story begins when Donkey Kong happens to find a magic coconut called the Crystal Coconut, which grants wishes and is capable of answering questions asked of it. Donkey Kong is the protector of the Crystal Coconut, which is housed in Cranky Kong's Cabin. King K. Rool and his minions want to steal the Crystal Coconut from Donkey Kong and company to rule Kongo Bongo Island, the setting of the show. Try as they may, King K. Rool and his minions never succeed in stealing the Crystal Coconut. Each episode features two songs performed by the show's characters. The series spanned a total of 40 episodes in two seasons. Season 1 was produced by Medialab Technology for 26 episodes. But after the license became invalid, Nelvana got the rights to license the series and worked with Chinese studio, Hong Guang Animation for Season 2 that features 14 more episodes. Reception 90% (GBC) 79% (GBA) |mc1 = — (SNES) — (GBC) 78 (GBA) |game2 = Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest |gr2 = 90% (SNES) 81% (GBA) |mc2 = — (SNES) 80 (GBA) |game3 = Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! |gr3 = 84% (SNES) 75% (GBA) |mc3 = — (SNES) 77 (GBA) |game4 = Donkey Kong Country Returns |gr4 = 87% (Wii) 83% (3DS) |mc4 = 87 (Wii) 83 (3DS) |game5 = Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze |gr5 = 84% (Wii U) 87% (NS) |mc5 = 83 (Wii U) 86 (NS) }} The Donkey Kong Country series has received critical acclaim, garnering an aggregate score of 86.83% on GameRankings—not including ports and re-releases. References Category:Donkey Kong Category:Donkey Kong platform games Category:Nintendo franchises Category:Video game franchises Category:Video game franchises introduced in 1994 Category:Video game spin-offs